Short Histories of Light (Volume 42)

113 Pages·2018·2.416 MB·English

by  Aidan Chafe

Short Histories of Light
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the hugh maclennan poetry series
Editors: Allan Hepburn and Carolyn Smart
titles in the series
Waterglass Jeffery Donaldson
All the God-Sized Fruit Shawna Lemay
Chess Pieces David Solway
Giving My Body to Science Rachel Rose
The Asparagus Feast S.P. Zitner
The Thin Smoke of the Heart Tim Bowling
What Really Matters Thomas O’Grady
A Dream of Sulphur Aurian Haller
Credo Carmine Starnino
Her Festival Clothes Mavis Jones
The Afterlife of Trees Brian Bartlett
Before We Had Words S.P. Zitner
Bamboo Church Ricardo Sternberg
Franklin’s Passage David Solway
The Ishtar Gate Diana Brebner
Hurt Thyself Andrew Steinmetz
The Silver Palace Restaurant Mark Abley
Wet Apples, White Blood Naomi Guttman
Palilalia Jeffery Donaldson
Mosaic Orpheus Peter Dale Scott
Cast from Bells Suzanne Hancock
Blindfold John Mikhail Asfour
Particles Michael Penny
A Lovely Gutting Robin Durnford
The Little Yellow House Heather Simeney MacLeod
Wavelengths of Your Song Eleonore Schönmaier
But for Now Gordon Johnston
Some Dance Ricardo Sternberg
Outside, Inside Michael Penny
The Winter Count Dilys Leman
Tablature Bruce Whiteman
Trio Sarah Tolmie
hook nancy viva davis halifax
Where We Live John Reibetanz
The Unlit Path Behind the House Margo Wheaton
Small Fires Kelly Norah Drukker
Knots Edward Carson
The Rules of the Kingdom Julie Paul
Dust Blown Side of the Journey Eleonore Schönmaier
slow war Benjamin Hertwig
The Art of Dying Sarah Tolmie
Short Histories of Light Aidan Chafe
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Short Histories of Light
Aidan Chafe
McGill-Queen’s University Press
Montreal & Kingston • London • Chicago
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© Aidan Chafe 2018
ISBN 978-0-7735-5276-0 (paper)
ISBN 978-0-7735-5288-3 (ePDF)
ISBN 978-0-7735-5289-0 (ePUB)
Legal deposit first quarter 2018
Bibliothèque nationale du Québec
Printed in Canada on acid-free paper that is 100% ancient forest
free (100% post-consumer recycled), processed chlorine free
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts,
which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to
Canadians throughout the country.
Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. L’an
dernier, le Conseil a investi 153 millions de dollars pour mettre de
l’art dans la vie des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Chafe, Aidan, 1983–, author
Short histories of light / Aidan Chafe.
(The Hugh MacLennan poetry series)
Poems.
Issued in print and electronic formats.
isbn 978-0-7735-5276-0 (softcover). –
isbn 978-0-7735-5288-3 (ePDF). –
isbn 978-0-7735-5289-0 (ePUB)
I. Title.  II. Series: Hugh MacLennan poetry series
PS8605.H327S56 2018 C811'.6 C2017-905695-6
C2017-905696-4
This book was typeset by Marquis Interscript
in 9.5/13 New Baskerville.
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for Alfred, Margaret & Marjali
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Contents
BREATHING LESSONS
Thetis 3
Disconnection 4
Father’s Hand 5
Night Owl 6
Breathing Lessons 7
Grandma’s Apartment 8
Rita 9
Diary of a Redhead 10
PSYCH WARD HYMNAL
Major 15
Hell Has Nothing to Do with Fire 16
A Short History of Light 17
Mute Swan 21
Chief Broom 22
Ignoring Presence of Mind 24
Nature’s Ward 25
Psych Ward Hymnal 26
CALCULATIONS FOR CATHOLICS
Why God Is a Father 39
Abraham 40
Gospel According to Uncle Peter 41
Our Father 42
Calculations for Catholics 43
vii
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Genuflection 44
Mike 45
Lost Lambs 46
Jesus Lizard 48
Minding the Gap 49
On the Origin of Apples 50
UNSETTLEMENT
Dependency Day 55
Vegastriction 57
Salmon Fishing 58
Unsettlement 59
Punjabi Schoolyard 60
Made in Indonesia 61
At the Corner of Howe and Hastings 62
Commute 63
Similkameen Dream 64
SHARPEST TOOTH
Foxhole Diary 67
Hyannis 69
The Woods 70
Weather Hunter 71
Sharpest Tooth 72
Red, Having Rendered 76
Daughterly Advice 77
Traitorspotting 78
Incisions 86
Firestarters 87
Houseboat 91
Pas de Deux 92
Portrait of a Boy as Mist 93
viii
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Anatomy of Chaos 95
Accident 97
Prologue to Absolute Certainty 98
Notes 99
Acknowledgments 101
ix
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